QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.8md

Earthquake near Guánica, PR

Yes: an earthquake was likely felt in Guánica in the last 24 hours. M 2.1, 7 km (4 mi) ENE of Guánica, at 4:14 pm AST on 11 November 2026 (20:14 UTC); the estimated shaking in Guánica was intensity II (weak). Every earthquake near Guánica

This page: a magnitude 2.8 earthquake was recorded 18 km (11 mi) south of Guánica, PR, at 7:59 pm AST on 20 May 2020 (23:59 UTC), 5.0 km deep.

USGS: 17 km S of Guánica, Puerto Rico

36 km (23 mi) SW of Ponce, PR

7:59 pm AST, May 20, 2020 · · 5.0 km deep · released about 430 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Guánica Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Guánica Municipio 15 kmLajas Municipio 23 kmGuayanilla Municipio 24 kmPeñuelas Municipio 30 kmSabana Grande Municipio 30 kmYauco Municipio 31 kmSan Germán Municipio 36 kmCabo Rojo Municipio 36 kmPonce Municipio 38 km
Distance rings around the epicentre, with the nearest towns at their true direction and later quakes as coloured dots. Not a shaking map — see the USGS ShakeMap for that.
When
7:59 pm AST on 20 May 2020 ()
Where
18 km (11 mi) south of Guánica, PR · earthquakes near Guánica
Magnitude
M 2.8 (md)
Depth
5.0 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Guánica Municipio, 15 km N
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2287 days ago

This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 26 km (16 mi) from the epicentre. In Guánica, 18 km away, the estimate is intensity II (weak). Estimated from magnitude, depth and distance with the intensity equation USGS Did You Feel It? uses; felt reports, where there are any, are the measurement.

Likely felt in: Yauco 25 km, intensity II · Guayanilla 26 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 430 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 35,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 25,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 2.2× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.8 about 430 lb of TNT

Energy from the Gutenberg–Richter relation (log10E = 1.5M + 4.8), rounded to two figures; bar length is magnitude, which is already a logarithm of energy. Magnitudes of past earthquakes from the USGS catalogue.

For this area

The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 6.4 on 2020-01-07 — about 280,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record since 1900 lists no earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km.

Since 2016: the QuakeIndex catalogue (US, M1.5+), built from the USGS FDSN event service. Before 2016: USGS ComCat, M5+ from 1900. Distances are between epicentres. This is the record, not a forecast.

Where

Epicentre 17.8138, -66.9050. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Guánica Municipio, PR 15 km (9 mi) N earthquakes near Guánica Municipio
Lajas Municipio, PR 23 km (14 mi) NW earthquakes near Lajas Municipio
Guayanilla Municipio, PR 24 km (15 mi) NNE earthquakes near Guayanilla Municipio
Peñuelas Municipio, PR 30 km (19 mi) NE earthquakes near Peñuelas Municipio
Sabana Grande Municipio, PR 30 km (19 mi) N earthquakes near Sabana Grande Municipio
Yauco Municipio, PR 31 km (19 mi) N earthquakes near Yauco Municipio

Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.

Aftershocks so far

60 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.

  1. 2.5 5 km SW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.4 3 km SSE of Indios, Puerto Rico
  3. 3.5 14 km SSE of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.5 16 km S of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.8 0 km SSE of Indios, Puerto Rico
  6. 3.1 5 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.3 4 km SE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.8 6 km SSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.8 3 km ENE of Magas Arriba, Puerto Rico
  10. 3.1 6 km ESE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.8 3 km WSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.5 10 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  13. 3.1 7 km SSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  14. 3.1 10 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  15. 3.3 10 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico

Counted from the QuakeIndex database, which ingests the USGS feed every 30 seconds · as of . QuakeIndex does not forecast aftershocks. When USGS issues an operational aftershock forecast it appears on the USGS event page.

On USGS

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.